-- OPERATION CONCLUDED FOR FORMER SIEDLCE PRESIDENT AND PIS REGIONAL COUNCILOR WOJCIECH KUDELSKI, STABBED OVERNIGHT: “The attack occurred in the gateway of the building where the local official resides. The attacker was waiting for him. Preliminary findings suggest that without a word, from https://300polityka.pl/live/2019/04/01/

-- GAZETA WYBORCZA ANNOUNCES INTERVIEW WITH BIRGFELLNER FOR TUESDAY: “Kaczyński told me he spoke with Morawiecki about the skyscraper and heard from him that he feared our project because it could cost PiS votes. Since Kaczyński, the most important Polish politician, asked me to bring him money because he had to pay for a signature without which the project wouldn't start, I thought everything would be fine.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,24603520,gerald-birgfellner-dla-wyborczej-zaluje-ze-zaufalem-kaczynskiemu.html

-- IN POLAND THEY DECIDED RAILWAYS ARE A BURDEN, WHILE IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC SMALL TRAINS CARRY PEOPLE - Dr. Jakub Majewski in conversation with Grzegorz Sroczyński: “In Poland, they decided that provincial railways are a burden. 'This activity will never pay for itself.' Capitalist ideology was applied to public transport, meaning if something isn't profitable, it's unnecessary. The Czechs use 'pocket money' solutions. A small, two-axle railcar that consumes little fuel runs back and forth. We, on the other hand, have always been imperialistic: railways were meant to be powerful, heavy, with long trains and routes spanning hundreds of kilometers. And a locomotive as big as a dragon and a string of wagons, preferably double-decker. We never had such railcars because we are a large, serious country. The Czechs aren't ashamed that a small shell runs on rails carrying dozens of passengers. It fulfills its social function, so let it run. They decided that railways can be modest and don't necessarily have to generate revenue. For us, railways were for servicing heavy industry and large agglomerations, and for the provinces, private buses were supposed to be available. As a result, almost nothing arrives.”

-- ON HOW CONNECTIONS WERE ELIMINATED BY DISCOURAGING PEOPLE - MAJEWSKI CONTINUES TO TELL SROCZYŃSKI: “Precisely to avoid mass protests. First, you have a hundred unhappy people because the train runs slower. They'll write a few complaints and switch to cars or buses. Then – after communication – there are fifty left who are annoyed that they have no connection. They'll write a petition, grumble, and eventually also give up. And so on, until finally the train runs almost empty and it can be calmly announced that the connection is unnecessary and should be closed. A good way to extinguish demand is to eliminate off-peak connections. This was done under the guise of 'managerial management.' For example, it was calculated that the line at 4 PM and 5 PM is indeed packed, but at later hours the train runs mostly empty. 'We need to eliminate this waste.' And they cut the emptier services, leaving only the peak hour ones.”

-- ON HOW THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION REFUSED BIEŃKOWSKA'S REQUEST NOT TO ALLOCATE EU FUNDS TO RAILWAYS: “That there was no question of it. If you don't want funds for railways, you won't get them at all. And only then did the program to save this money gain traction. It had been with railway workers for a long time, but no one wanted to listen to them. It was a program of rapid renovations for relatively small amounts, in the order of several hundred million zlotys. In fact, targeted interventions turned out to be much better than large, multi-billion projects. The reconstruction of the Warsaw-Gdynia line cost 10 billion zlotys and reduced train travel time by 40 minutes. A very similar effect was achieved by the renovation of the line from the Tricity to Poznań, which cost 300 million zlotys. Also 300 km and also 40 minutes shorter.”

-- PEOPLE THINK - THEY HAVE PENDOLINO, THEY TOOK OUR LOCAL TRAIN, THE ELITES TRAVEL IN NEW WAGONS WITH INTERNET - MAJEWSKI CONTINUES WITH SROCZYŃSKI: “People observed their timetable melting away, and disused platforms overgrown with bushes. Meanwhile, on the main lines between large cities, the Warsaw elites were zipping along in new wagons with internet. 'They have Pendolino, and they took our local train away.' You just need to read the online comments. Residents of Brodnica and Lidzbark believe that Pendolino is not for them, since their connection to Działdowo, where they could potentially transfer to these zipping trains, has been removed. And here comes PiS, saying: they took your post office, your police station, your hospital, and your station. And that's the truth. It's strange that no other party noticed this before and made it a central issue.” http://next.gazeta.pl/next/7,151003,24597694,rozklady-jazdy-pkp-specjalnie-ustawiano-tak-zeby-ludzie-nie.html

-- THE NETHERLANDS, BUT ELECTORALLY BRILLIANT - EWA SIEDLECKA in Polityka: “President Kaczyński thus promised netizens the Netherlands. But the slogan of defending freedom on the internet is as catchy as 500+ for every child. Furthermore, it's addressed to a social group to whom PiS had previously only offered 'patriotic upbringing.' Now (PiS calculates), even though they didn't intend to, they will go to the polls and vote for the party that promised to protect their freedom. An electorally brilliant move.”

-- SIEDLECKA MOCKS THE REALITY OF PiS'S PROPOSALS BUT ADMITS THEY ARE EFFECTIVE: “Truly, chapeau bas: PiS will guarantee us freedom. Admittedly, not in reality, but on the internet, yet considering that the digital reality is becoming even more real than the analog one – especially in politics – this statement is extremely significant. And propagandistically effective, as it refers to the symbolism of ACTA – an American-Japanese-EU agreement that sparked a pan-European movement of opposition in 2012, with Polish netizens as its leaders.” https://siedlecka.blog.polityka.pl/2019/03/31/kaczynski-obiecuje-niderlandy-czyli-fakenews-plus/

-- JACEK ŻAKOWSKI ON HOW PO GAVE ARGUMENTS TO PiS WITH THE DIRECTIVE - writes in Gazeta Wyborcza: “Whoever wants to effectively defend democracy against populists must not hand them weapons, which PO, by way of the audiovisual directive, has given to Kaczyński.”

-- THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF RZECZPOSPOLITA ON KACZYŃSKI AND THE INTERNET - HE LOOKED AS IF HE NAVIGATED THE WEB LIKE A TEENAGER: “The gray-haired party patriarch looked as if he knew the virtual world very well, navigating the web like a teenager for whom the breeding grounds of patostreaming, forbidden portals, and the dark side of the internet hold no secrets. It is known, however, that this is not the case. Jarosław Kaczyński reads printed web pages, is moderately proficient with Word, and is not the world's most renowned hacker.” https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/190409999-Prawo-i-Sprawiedliwosc-brnie-w-ACTA-2.html

-- POLES FOR A SECULAR STATE - Kantar MB poll for GW described by Michał Wilgocki: “As many as 64% of Poles support limiting state funding for the Church – according to a Kantar Millward Brown poll conducted for 'Wysokie Obcasy.' Kantar asked respondents about the project for a secular state. It includes three postulates regarding the financial separation of state and church: the liquidation of the Church Fund, the cessation of financing religious education classes in schools, and the taxation of clergy income on similar principles as other employees. Out of 1,500 surveyed individuals, as many as 64% declared their support for these three solutions. 29% were of the opposite opinion.” http://www.wysokieobcasy.pl/wysokie-obcasy/7,163229,24603402,sondaz-dla-wysokich-obcasow-polacy-w-tym-prawie-40-proc.html

-- OCHOJSKA DISLIKED THE SPOT WHERE SHE WAS CONTRASTED WITH ZALEWSKA AND DISTANCED HERSELF FROM IT - Agata Szczęśniak in OKO: “Janina Ochojska is not pleased with such a stark contrast of her person with Minister Zalewska. When 'Gazeta Wyborcza' described the EC spot juxtaposing two candidates, Ochojska intervened. The newspaper reported that after the article's publication, Janina Ochojska contacted them, and she did not like the video. 'This spot was not consulted with me or with my campaign team, called Janka's Team. It was created by the nationwide campaign team of the European Coalition. Meanwhile, it is important for me that my campaign carries a positive message and gives hope,' Ochojska emphasized.” https://oko.press/ochojska-kontra-zalewska-budowanie-kontra-rujnowanie-wspolpraca-kontra-pazernosc-nowy-jezyk-opozycji/

-- RENATA GROCHAL ON THE BEHIND-THE-SCENES SEARCH FOR CZERWIŃSKA'S SUCCESSOR - in Newsweek: “If Teresa continues to agonize for weeks and show how much PiS is twisting her arm, we will pay the price in the European Parliament elections. This needs to be cut short – says a close associate of the prime minister. According to our information, Czerwińska's departure is to be an amicable divorce, so it doesn't look like tearing garments against 'Kaczyński's fifth.' Czerwińska is to leave as part of a broader reconstruction along with ministers running for the European Parliament. And she is to be a Polish candidate for one of the international institutions. The latest scenario assumes that the reconstruction will take place in April, so that PiS can count on a 'cabinet refresh' bonus in the European elections. It was speculated that the prime minister himself might take over the Ministry of Finance, however, according to our information, the minister will most likely be Leszek Skiba, the current undersecretary of state. He has very good standing with Morawiecki and is associated with the Sobieski Institute, a right-wing think tank.” https://www.newsweek.pl/polska/polityka/minister-finansow-teresa-czerwinska-odejdzie-z-rzadu-jest-scenariusz/svpmhlw

-- ROBERT BIEDROŃ ON THE SPRING SWEEP - TELLS অর্থনীতিK ŻAKOWSKI: “It's not about witches, but about Misiewiczes, rusologists at the NBP, etc. If we want an efficient state apparatus and well-functioning offices, if we don't want people frustrated that they earn peanuts while Misiewiczes and PiS activists at the NBP get fortunes, we must establish and enforce transparent standards in administration. Otherwise, we will never escape this vicious cycle. We need to do some spring cleaning with a spring broom.”

-- EVEN IN HUNGARY, PARTNERSHIP UNIONS WERE NOT ABOLISHED - BIEDROŃ CONTINUES: “There were protests in France too. And in Germany, there were protests. And today, even in Great Britain, in the Czech Republic, in Orbán's Hungary, no one even thinks of abolishing the institution of partnership unions.”

-- BIEDROŃ COUNTS ON 1000 SEATS…: “About a hundred. With the European Coalition having about 180 seats, we could build a strong governing coalition.” https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/1787784,1,biedron-jestesmy-politycznym-start-upem.read

-- TOMASZ SAWCZUK IN KULTURA LIBERALNA ON WIOSNA'S 'RAZEM-IZATION': “What's more, Wiosna is unintentionally starting to fit into this picture of a small party for ideologues. This would threaten Biedroń's party with a kind of 'RAZEM-ization.' While before the convention the party announced a transformation of Polish politics in many areas, for several weeks now, only messages concerning the rights of LGBT+ people have been reaching the public from Wiosna.”

-- SAWCZUK ON WIOSNA'S PROBLEM WITH THE 10% BARRIER: “If Wiosna achieves a weak result in the European Parliament elections, i.e., below 10 percent, and Schetyna's coalition does not lose clearly to PiS, the party will have to consider joining the Civic Coalition for the parliamentary elections. And if Grzegorz Schetyna decides on such cooperation, it will be mainly to turn Wiosna upside down. If the final scenario is to be different, Wiosna politicians must think about how to counterattack.” https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2019/04/01/wiosna-kampania-wyborcza-2019-komentarz/

-- ZUZANNA DĄBROWSKA ON SLD CANDIDATES FROM LOWER PLACES ON THE EC LISTS - writes in Rzeczpospolita: “There were no such doubts regarding other SLD candidates, and that's probably why the Alliance activists are counting on surprises, i.e., someone from further down the list getting in – for example, doctor Riad Haidar in the Lublin region, Elżbieta Jachlewska in Pomerania, or Marek Balt in Silesia. Małgorzata Szmajdzińska, running from third place in the Lower Silesia and Opole district, may also have a chance. Each of these individuals could become a pearl in Czarzasty's crown – provided they get into the EP.” https://www.rp.pl/Wybory-do-PE/303319956-Kandydaci-SLD-na-listach-KE-Perly-w-koronie-Czarzastego.html

-- AGATA SZCZĘŚNIAK RIDICULES THE PRIME MINISTER'S WORDS: “WE DON'T HAVE MEDIA”: “PiS received six times more airtime than PO. All pro-democratic parliamentary opposition (PO, N, PSL, Teraz, Union of European Democrats) had three times less time to present their views than PiS along with its coalition partners (Zbigniew Ziobro's Solidarna Polska, Jarosław Gowin's Porozumienie): 47 versus 157 hours. Kornel Morawiecki's parliamentary club (as much as 6 hours) and the Republikanie association, which favors Gowin's Porozumienie (1 hour 40 minutes), are also treated well. Representatives of Janusz Korwin-Mikke's Wolność party were on air more often (1 hour 44 minutes) than actively involved in public life MPs from the parliamentary party Teraz! (1 hour 20 minutes for Scheuring-Wielgus and Petru). The Razem party is ignored (less than 20 minutes over three months), which, like Wolność in 2015, did not cross the electoral threshold for the Sejm, but receives budget subsidies. TVP does not give a voice to the National Movement.” https://oko.press/morawiecki-my-nie-mamy-mediow-a-tvp-ktore-daje-pis-szesc-razy-wiecej-czasu-niz-opozycji-to-pies/

-- BIRTHDAYS: Wojciech Jasiński, Katarzyna Zawada, Krzysztof Bukowski, Arkadiusz Klimowicz, Krzysztof Majkowski, Łukasz Smółka